Tribeca's new TV festival highlights streaming and VR shows

Amazon is still determined to snag every TV exclusivepossible, and it just scored one of its better deals -- or at least, one of the more forward-thinking. It now has the sole unlimited subscription streaming rights to the previous seasons of five NBCUniversal shows. The highlight could be Hannibal, which will reach the service later this year; gamers may also like the crossover SyFy series Defiance, which should be ready in early 2014. Those who just can't wait to stream something will get their fill through exclusives for Covert Affairs, Grimm and Suits, all of which are in the catalog today. Amazon isn't completely shutting out rivals like Netflix, however: its expanded NBCU deal includes regular deals for Alphas, Eureka, Smash, Warehouse 13 and a collection of children's shows destined for Kindle FreeTime Unlimited. While we'd prefer that there be as few exclusives as possible, there's no question that some Prime members will feel better about springing for that $79 yearly fee.

Also as a part of the agreement with NBCUniversal, popular children's shows including Curious George and Land Before Time will be available to customers with Kindle FreeTime Unlimited

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May. 16, 2013-- (NASDAQ:AMZN)-Amazon.com today announced an expanded content licensing agreement with NBCUniversal Cable & New Media Distribution that will bring a variety of popular programs to Prime Instant Video. Prime Instant Video offers more than 40,000 movies and TV episodes for Prime members to stream on Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch, Roku, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U, among other connected TVs and devices – all at no additional cost. To sign up for Amazon Prime, visit www.amazon.com/primeinstantvideo.

Prime members will have exclusive unlimited subscription streaming access to prior seasons of the following NBCUniversal shows:

* NBC's dark fantasy drama Grimm, based on the collection of Grimm Fairy Tales, available today* USA Network's legal drama Suits and serialized spy thriller Covert Affairs, available today* NBC's new psychological thriller Hannibal, based on the novels by Thomas Harris and produced by Gaumont International Television, available later this year* Syfy's new futuristic sci-fi and drama series Defiance, available early next year

In addition, today's announcement will add several fan-favorite shows to Prime Instant Video including NBC hit and Golden Globe nominated Smash, as well as Syfy drama series Alphas, Eureka and Warehouse 13. Also available are popular children's programs including Curious George and Land Before Time, which will both be available in Kindle FreeTime Unlimited, the all-you-can-eat content service that brings together all of the books, games, apps, movies and TV shows kids and parents love.

"We listen carefully to our customers to find out which TV shows and movies they find the most entertaining," said Brad Beale, Director of Digital Video Content Acquisition for Amazon. "Our expanded agreement with NBCUniversal gives Prime members access to even more exclusive content that they can stream instantly, at no additional cost. Compelling shows like Covert Affairs, Defiance, Grimm, Hannibal and Suits are big wins for our customers and we look forward to adding more titles soon."

"We're excited to expand our relationship with Amazon by adding great NBCUniversal content to Prime Instant Video," said Frances Manfredi, President, NBCUniversal Cable & New Media Distribution. "With Amazon, we're giving our established viewers a chance to catch-up on what they missed while simultaneously reaching and engaging new audiences who may not have seen these great series on their premiering networks."